Red Devils kicked out of FA Cup

MANCHESTER: Manchester United and West Ham paid a big price for fielding heavily weakened teams in the FA Cup when they were knocked out in the third round on Sunday, while Chelsea and Liverpool advanced relatively comfortably.

Swansea capitalised on the 80th-minute sending off of substitute Fabio Da Silva by scoring in the last minute through Wilfried Bony in a 2-1 win at United, the latest setback for David Moyes in his turbulent first season with the English champions.

United has lost four of its last six games at Old Trafford in all competitions and failed to reach the fourth round for only the second time in 30 years.

“We had another big game in 48 hours’ time so we have to keep that in mind (but) no excuse,” said Moyes, referring o the first leg of a League Cup semifinal against Sunderland on Tuesday. “We had a strong team out. Nearly every player out there was an international.”

Like United, West Ham used a lineup full of reserves ahead of its League Cup semifinal against Manchester City on Wednesday, and the gamble backfired.

The injury-hit Premier League struggler was crushed 5-0 at second-tier Nottingham Forest in the third round’s biggest shock.

“We had a huge amount of problems in terms of the available members of the squad so I’ve got to keep them intact, that’s a major priority,” said West Ham manager Sam Allardyce, who was already under pressure with his team next to last in the league. “Many, many managers have changed the team in all divisions, but my changes had to be severe.”

Chelsea and Liverpool played stronger lineups — and it showed. Second-half goals by John Obi Mikel and Oscar earned Chelsea a 2-0 victory at Derby, while Liverpool avenged last season’s surprise defeat to third-tier Oldham in this competition by winning 2-0 at Anfield thanks to Iago Aspas’ first goal for the club and an own goal by James Tarkowski.

That game also saw Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers go up against his own son, Anton, who plays for Oldham and came on as a second-half substitute.

“I’ve seen Anton’s life from when he was a young footballer and to see him run out there was a bit surreal really,” Rodgers said.

Sunderland beat third-tier Carlisle 3-1 in the other third-round match featuring a Premier League team.

The fear factor about visiting Old Trafford has disappeared since Alex Ferguson left United last summer and Swansea was the latest team to take advantage, recording its first win at the home of the champions.

“Let’s not kid ourselves, it’s a really bad result,” United midfielder Darren Fletcher said.

Meanwhile, England’s top teams were kept apart in the draw for the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday, with Premier League leader Arsenal facing third-tier Coventry and Chelsea pitted against fellow top-flight side Stoke.

Provided it beats Blackburn in a replay, Manchester City will also be playing at home against either Bristol City or Watford, who both play in the lower leagues.

Swansea’s reward for beating Manchester United in the third round is a trip to either Birmingham, Bristol Rovers or Crawley while Everton must travel to third-tier Stevenage.

Chelsea-Stoke is the only all-Premier League match.

 — AP